Shredded Pork Tacos (Crockpot)

There are some things I don’t mind eating 4 days in a row. Like pizza. Or margaritas.

As long as I can have different toppings on my pizza every night. And I don’t have to make run to the liquor store for margarita fixins. But I can’t get excited about the same thing over and over again when I have shelves full of cookbooks and magazines calling my name. “Make me! No, make me!”

I didn’t always have that problem but I married a leftover hater. And somewhere along the line, I started to become one, too. Reimagining leftovers in a house full of leftover haters is a pretty nifty skill to have.

With this one crockpot recipe came 4 different meals: tacos, quesadillas (really just a flat taco), flautas (really just a rolled & baked taco), and sandwiches (a taco with bread?).

Well, different enough

We set out to make a Mexican pulled pork, infusing a pork roast with some of my favorite TexMex flavors. And grapefruit – if you’ve ever made these fajitas, you know grapefruit juice is a great tenderizer.

While pulled pork needs little help in the tenderizing department, the flavors of the marinade change the profile from your standard barbecue sandwich to a meal perfect for taco night.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Pulled pork gets a TexMex makeover with a grapefruit-chile marinade.

Ingredients

For the marinade:

5-6lb pork shoulder roast

Juice from 1 large Texas ruby red grapefruit

3 large, dried guajillo chiles, stems removed

2 serrano peppers, stems and seeds (optional) removed

1/2 medium white or yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

2 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce

2 tsp ancho chile powder (can substitute regular)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp salt

Handful of cilantro

3 Tbsp olive oil

For the tacos:

Tortillas

Pico de gallo

Sliced jalapenos

Lime wedges

Grilled pineapple rings, chopped

Guacamole

Instructions

Place pork roast in a large ziptop bag.

Place remaining marinade ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour over the pork roast, seal the bag tightly, and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.

I’m a HUGE fan of leftovers but there are definitely times when i just want to reinvent them or experience them in a new way! variety is the spice of life, after all…and these carnitas are perfect for that!

Yum! I’ve never tried using grapefruit juice in marinade so I’ll go check out the fajitas recipe. And I’m lucky that I’m a leftovers hater but married a leftovers lover. He eats leftovers all day long. It’s great.